It was only after Violet had gone to bed alone that Verde had demanded for the rest of the Arcobalenos to meet him in the kitchen.
Viper was hovering near the door, still sunken in themself under the scrutinising glares of their bondmates.
"Why are they here?" Reborns gaze was riddled with absolute disgust as he stared the miser down.
Verde pushed his glasses up his nose "Because they are important for this. We are here to talk about Violet."
"Another reason to not have them anywhere near this, kora." The rain wasn't better, even if he had let out his aggression towards the mist today.
"Can you all calm down for a second? I am as dissatisfied with Viper as the rest of you"
The scientist pointedly ignoring Colonnelos "Dissatisfies? Really?"
before he resumed speaking. "What is more important to you? Punishing Viper because they went too far or helping Violet?"
"What is that even for a question?" Fon burst out, his signature smile forcibly in place.
"We need Viper for this." the lightning stated.
The miser looked up in shock "What?"
"If you all would let me talk for a second I could explain." the greenhead snapped at them and for once gained a silent room and all of their attention.
"Violet's showing clear signs of how her trauma is affecting her, which is naturally obvious but we aren't tackling that right now. I know every last one of you wants to correct her right now and make her see what is actually going on but that's not what Violet needs right now."
"And what does she need?"
"Reassurement."
"I'm already doing that." the hitman stated.
"Yes and if you wouldn't we wouldn't have a talking Violet right now but she relies on you because of her former fixation on seeing you as a shield. Same as I expect her to fixate on Fon in the next few days. You are the two that are closest to her. Your opinions matter the most and that's her problem right now.
She isn't looking at what happened, she's solely focused on what she did and how it might have affected us. She can't see what we see. She doesn't see what is transpiring, all she can focus on is how she - in her opinion - threw a tantrum and overreacted, no matter that it isn't true. Her mind is jumping around looking for anything she does wrong and that's where our opinions and actions show her where she has to go.``
"And how do we fix that?"
"Not right now, that's for sure. She isn't a five year old. Violet is 60 and while it's a fact that all of our mental growths were stunned while we were cursed it doesn't take the years away and Violet lived with this mindset for several decades, same as her disorders. They form someone and her mind literally isn't able to face reality. She doesn't want to and can't at the same time."
"If it's hopeless then why are you telling us that?"
"It's not hopeless, it's not an easy fix either. We are working with a mind with mental trauma and ingrained behaviour but again it's not what we should focus on right now."
"and what should we focus on?" the storm asked.
"Safety. she's still in overdrive. She might seem more relaxed but she's hypersensitive. She flinches at movement, her mind is racing and every little thing that could be any kind of danger registers and sends her into an overwhelmed state.
She's still stuck in her panic response. Barely out of her nonverbal state but her mind is still on edge, searching for the next thing that could set her off while simultaneously beating herself up because of it. I wouldn't even be surprised if she stopped eating tomorrow.
Violet doesn't feel safe. She has no way to compare our rejection to anything. She has no experience with us worrying about her. We never gave her anything like this and it's the first time that she had a shutdown that excessive in front of us and not just that; it links together with her brian telling her it's her fault."
Verde shuffled through his notes to keep his hands busy "And this combination? It can turn way worse. Just searching for reassurement is in theory not that bad and we under no circumstance should stop granting it to her but… it can take other stages. Tell me Reborn what would you do if she asked you to sleep with her?"
"What?" the hitman stared at the scientist "What even is that kind of question?"
"It's a legit question. What do you think it can lead to if she is desperate for it? For any kind of reassurement? I'm again not telling you to refuse her if she searches for skinship, she actually needs it but there is a line that can escalate, that we don't want to overstep and yes, it can lead to that kind of extreme. if she wasn't a virgin I would have even expected it but…well."
The lightning took another deep breath "I don't want to get to the point where we have to actively try to navigate the line of giving her what she wants and needs and anything she would regret and I mean it when I say she would do anything and I personally don't want to see how it plays out if it in any way even breaches towards a kiss because it can only end in disaster."
"Then what should we do to stop it?" Lal asked, leaning forward and her gaze sharp and focused.
"The problem is that there is one person in here that has joined the ranks of Fon and Reborn for the top spots in her search for reassurement and if that person even gives her the feeling that they reject her then it will get worse.
She will feel like her mind is right, that she did something wrong and she will search for someone to relieve it. To see that not everyone hates her. This person has an even bigger influence in all of this than Reborn."
"You're Not…"
"Yes, it's Viper."
"Why does Viper have such an influence?"
"Because they are the cause, they are the person that got the whole extent of Violet's rage. While she was nonverbal and still in her shutdown she crawled to apologise to Viper. her focus was Viper and she singled on it and even while she's now in a state where she's more aware… it won't change that it burns on her mind. She has to fix it with Viper and well Viper here is evading her.
In Violet's mind Viper doesn't want to deal with her. That they are taken back and that's the one thing we must tackle because this one matter is too strong. Naturally we can deal with it otherwise but it's the quickest and safest way."
"Can you stop circling around the topic and tell us what exactly Viper is supposed to do to stop any more escalation?" Fon asked.
"Forgive Violet."
"What?" several voices rang out.
"Forgive Violet, give her the reassurement she needs. I know you are refusing because you feel guilty, as you should. But if you want to even attempt to pay for it don't let Violet suffer anymore. Yes, it's her mind that warps it around but it's easier to work with it instead of against it.
If we want to have her create a healthy mindset we need her stable for it. We need to do it gently and it's a process. We can tell her the same thing every day and there is no guarantee that it will click but in her still overwhelmed raw state? She clutches onto it. It's her crutch.
In a state of panic and uncertainty you will search for familiarity, for what you're used to and this thinking is ingrained in her. What Viper did…"
he trailed off, not sure how to put it without stating his observations on her disorder "let's say it like that… Her brain couldn't deal with it. It couldn't handle Vipers actions and created a possibility for her to…. deal with the issue. It's not like she forgot it but… she can't access it.
She can't think about it because it sends her into a meltdown and instead she gives herself the armour of familiarity that it's her fault. That she has to deal with it because she can't comprehend what happened."
He stared at Viper for his next part "Viper you messed up and it will have consequences and I stand with the others on that but it's not important to handle it objectively because Violet can't deal with it like that. Her brain won't let her.
I'm not even sure if it will ever sink in, if she can ever see it for what it was. Reality split up for her to make her able to deal with it and you're the one who needs to step up and fix it.
see it as your punishment and be aware of what you did and I hope every last moment of it will make you suffer but I'm not letting Violet deal with it. She isn't in a state where she can."
Reborn transfixed on him "You're eliding information."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not stepping over her privacy again and I'm not willing to share what I found out, not if she doesn't want it. it's too personal."
"It's serious?"
"Very. But it's not pressing for any of us. It's something she has to deal with as she likes and I will offer her help with it but in the end there is no need for any of you to know."
He could feel their burning gazes on him but no one made an attempt to pry it out of him. they had learned their lesson.